This invention generally relates to the extension of Voice Message like systems such that they are better suited to performing specific administrative and management tasks, especially those tasks relating to group decision-making activities. It has become a common practice in many organizations to install a centralized Voice Message System which may be coupled with a Private Branch Exchange (PBX). There are a number of voice message systems known in the art and which are commercially available. These systems are used to automate the answering of incoming calls from outside telephone networks, as well as for coverage of telephone lines within the PBX's line domain. This is helpful for situations where the extension is busy or does not answer. In some cases these systems allow individuals to create distribution lists of subscribers which are also known simply as distribution lists. Voice messages can then be sent to those subscribers on such a list. On some systems voice message recipients can send a reply voice message to the message originator, or forward the voice message to other subscribers.
As Voice Message Systems have become popular, organizations have registered larger numbers of employees or members on the Voice Message System. The development of larger Voice Message Systems and their widespread use within organizations has created a situation where large communities of users all frequently access a system, and are familiar with its operation. Experience with Voice Message Systems has shown them to be a useful and important part of the way modern organizations function. Experience has also shown the limitations of the prior art. Prior systems provide non-existent, incomplete, or inadequate solutions to many functions and services that organizations must perform, especially those conducted by administrators and managers, and especially those associated with group decision-making techniques such as the Delphi and the Nominal Group approaches. In these cases the information to be sent, or the responses required, are often numeric or symbolic rather than verbal. Furthermore, each response should fall within a specific range. Also, in some cases individual responses should remain confidential, and the administrator or manager should only access totals. In some cases the numeric data is in tabular form, and the administrator wishes to present this table to the caller. This type of controlled numeric and symbolic dialogue must also be coupled with verbal messages.